Despite repeated threats by Pentagon officials
that a return to sequestration would
require
a change in strategy, the
2015
national military strategy released Wednesday maintains the existing
requirement
to defeat an adversary in a “large-scale, multi-phase campaign,
while denying ... another aggressor” elsewhere. The
strategy assesses the probability of an interstate war to be “low but growing,”
but notes that, “Should one occur ... the consequences would be immense.”
Violent extremist organizations, such as ISIS, pose an immediate risk. And, the
risk of a
hybrid
approach to warfare, as exhibited by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is
likely. “Hybrid conflicts serve to increase ambiguity, complicate
decision-making, and slow the coordination of effective responses,” states the
report. As such, the strategy details three national military objectives. They
are: “to deter, deny, and defeat state adversaries; to disrupt, degrade and
defeat [violent extremist organizations]; and to strengthen our global network
of allies and partners.”
